Combined by-pass and relief valve



E. B. WHELAN., COMBINED BY PASSAND RELIEF VALVE.

0 m vi 11 11 M 24 Is LUT. PM

A B R auwuto z. EUGENE B. WHELAN Witness:

'E. B. WHELANl comsmeo BY-PASS AND mm VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1913'.

- I PatentedSept. 21, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

EUGENE B. WHELAN,

compound steam engines,

STATES caries.

Specification of Letters Patent.

COMBINED BY-PASS AND RELIEF VALVE.

Patented Sept. 21, 1929..

Application filed August 6, 1918. Serial No. 248,521.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Eucaxn B. WHELAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Omaha, county of Douglas, and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined By-Pass and Belief Valves, and have described the same in the following specification, illustrated by the accompanying drawin s.

31y invention relates to that class of valves which are adapted to be used in steam engines of the piston-valve type, and individually to perform in such an engine, as occasion may require, the function of abypass valve and also the functions of a vacuum and compression relief valve. It is the main object of the invention to improve the construction and operation of valves of this class, especially the compression and relief valve for which Letters Patent of the United. States were issued to me January 1st, 1907, under the Serial Number-839,912, and the combined vacuum and relief valve for which Letters Patent of the United States were issued to me and another November 25th, 1902, under the Serial Number 714:,345; to use a single opening of the valve housing for the double purpose of constructively admitting the valve into the housing and of operatively relieving vacuum and compression, and thereby to reduce the number of openings in the housing and of exterior connections therewith; to provide the valve with a three-point bearing, and thereby prevent the same from moving laterall'y' from its true path in the housing; to cushion the seating of the valve, and thereby prevent it from hammering; to provide ex ternally visible means for observing the operative lift, or throw, of the valve, and thereby avoid disturbing or opening the housing for that purpose; to provide the valve with a special valve stop; and to adapt a valve of the specified class to operate as a by-pass valve and also as a relief valve in simple engines of the piston valve type, and in the several known types of namely, the crosscompound, the four-cylinder compound,the tandem compound, the Mallet compound, and in all other multipleexpansion locomotive engines. To accomplish these objects,

- I incorporate in my improved; valve, as

parts thereof, a housing having two internal spaced valve seats, a doubleseating puppet valve co-acting with the valve seats, a top open ng and a bottom opening from the housing to the external air and steam chest respectively, and an openin from the lions ing for communicatirn wit a steam cylinder, namely, either the boiler-pressure -cyl inder of the simple engine or a low-pressure cylinder of the compound engine, in which the invention is employed.

In said drawings, illustrating the best manner in which I have contemplated applying the principles of the invention, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a steam chest and adjacent portions of a. steam engine having ,two duplicate com bmed by-pass and relief valves which are constructed in a preferred form, in accordance with these principles.

Fig. 2 is a verti-. cal longitudinal sectional view of one of the valves and valve housings of Fig. 1. Fig.

3 is a bottom view of the same valve housing. Fig. t is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same valve and valve housing in a modified form. Fig. tail plan of a portion of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a of Fig. 8. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section on the section line 7-7 of Fig. 41 Fig. 8 is a detail vertical section of the valve on the section line 88 of Fig. 6. v In the illustrated specimens of my invention, the valve housing is denoted by the numeral 1. it has the spaced valve seats 2 vided above its upper seat with an extension;

portion or extension 4, working in the upper This housing ex 5 of the valve-housing.

tension has a cylinder-head 8, whiohf is formed integrally therewith, an axial stem.

or boss, 6, which is threaded both eaterynall'y and internally, and a plurality 0t"- 5 is defhorizontal section on the section lined-6,

spaced air-holes, 10, which extend radialiy through the cylindrical wall of the extension just below this. head. The housing, being a unitary flat-bottomed metallic block, has an internal steam passage 7, which leads laterally from the valve chamber 9, and, like the valve chamber, 9, extends down separately through the bottom of the block. t is bolted to the steam chest ll and'forms a steam-tight joint therewith. Thehousing extension 5 is provided with a cap 12, which has a plurality of peripheral spaced holes 16 and a central axial hole 17 whereby it is fitted loosely upon the stem 6 and is rotarily adjustable thereon to bring 'caid holes 16 into or out of complete registration with the air-holes 10 and thus to open the latter more or less, as may be required, 01' to close the same partly, but not entirely so as to hold more or less pressure within the head 8 and thus cushion the valve 3 on to its seats and prevent hammering. This .cap is held in any position to which it may be so adjusted, by the nut 18 on the stem 6.

The valve chamber 9 communicates by the passage 14 with the chamber 15, which, in a single expansion engine, is the main high pressure steam channel to the cylinder 18, and, in the case of a multiple expansion engine, is the primary steam supply channel to the secondor subsequent expansion cylinder denoted by the same numeral 18. The steam passage 7 communicates with the cylinder by the channel 19. In the preferred form of the invention, cal extension 25 under the seat I) of the valve, has a plurality of radial steam passages 26, and works in the enlarged portion 27 of the valve chamber in sliding contact with the guiding ribs 28, down to and against,.and is stopped by, the flat top of the steam chest. In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the joint ring 20 and the circular lift stop plate 21 are interposed between the valve housing and the steam chest. In this construction, the plate 21 has a plurality of perforating steam passages 22, overlaps the top margin of the passage 14, and has in the top of its elevated middle the fiaring socket 23, which is adapted to receive with centering, cushioning and stoppin effeet the coaxial boss 24 which projects rom the bottom of the valve. In this construction as the boss 24 enters socket 23 the plate 21 affords a bearing for and lateral guidance to the valve, as do the ribs 28 of Fig. 4 in each instance cooperating with those portions of the valve housing above the valve seats to form a three-point bearing for the valve. This three-p int bearing, together with the vertical disposition of the valve, as shown, effectively prevents lateral displacement, promotes more effective and sensitive operation, and reduces wear to a minimum so that the life of the valve in efficient condition is greatly increased.

The hollow stem 6 is ordinarily closed by the removable screw plug 29; whenthis plug is removed, the measuring rod 30 may be screwed into the top of the valve and extend loosely through the stem 6, as shown in Fig. 4. Its reciprocating movement above the housing will then measure to the eye the operative throw or lift of the valve at that time. Thus, in operation, when the the hollow cylindrilocomotive throttle is closed, and the locomotive is drifting, both of the valves provided by my invention drop by gravity to open position, and the pressure is relieved from the space forwardly of the piston in either direction through the channels of the valve housing, channels 19 and the steam chamber 15. In this way the pressure is simply bypassed from one side of the piston to the other side thereof, reducing the pressure in front of the piston and the vacuum in the rear thereof, in both directions of movement, and eliminating all dra so that the locomotive may drift freely, lhe act of thus by-passing the pressure furthermore accomplishes the desired result and still maintains the steam chests and valve casing warm and in condition for most elfec tive operation.

I claim as my invention 1. In a valve of the type described, a casing having vertically spaced valve seats and adapted to be secured upon the fiat top of a steam chest, a vertically movable valve member having portions cooperating with said seat and having guides slidably cooperating with portions of the casing, said casing having steam passages below the valve member and between the valve seats, and a plate interposed in the steam passage below the valve member, having a central cavity and apertures around the cavity, the said valve member having-a lower extension movable into the cavity of the said plate when the valve is in lowermost position.

2. A combined by-pass and relief valve including a casing adapted to. be bolted fiatwise upon a steam chest, said casing havin vertically spaced and alined valve seats, an having steam passagesone of-which opens below the valve seats and the other of which opens at one side of the first passage and.

extends between the valve seats, said casing having guide portions above its valve seats and upper adjustable valve cushioning means, a valve member having portions cooperating in vertically slidable relationwith the guide portions of the casing and having valve pieces in vertically spaced relation shiftable into and out of engagement with the valve seats of the casing, and a plate at the lower portion of the casing arranged to be clamped between the same and the flat top of a steam chestnvithin the steam passage below the valve seats, said plate having openings therethrough and provided -with a central tapering socket, the valve member having, a lower axially projecting and tapering boss arranged to enter the said socket of said plate when the valve member moves downwardly to open position.

Witness my signature at Omaha, Nebraska, August-2nd, 1918.

EUGENE B, WHELAN. 

